Burn
by Alexandria Kennedy
Summary: Foxface and Clove form an unlikely alliance.As they battle through the 74th Hunger Games, they just may start to fall for each other.What will happen in this twisted version?And...WILL THERE BE A SEQUEL? Tell me if there should be a sequel in your reviews
1. Foxface

**Author's Note: This starts at the part where Rue tells Katniss about the trackerjacker hive. However, it goes a bit differently.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games…though I kind of wish I do…**

**Pairing: This might turn into a Foxface/Clove romance…I'm not entirely sure, yet. Tell me in your reviews, though, please**

**Full Summary: Clove and the others are sleeping, waiting for the moment that Katniss is forced to come down from her tree. When Katniss wakes from her sleep and is told to cut down the hive by Rue, she takes the order, working silently so that her enemies do not wake up. What Katniss did not expect was that there was something who was watching her work, someone other than Rue. Foxface, seeing Clove, the girl who she had taken a liking to during training, cannot bring herself to see Clove die in such a terrible death.**

**Just as the hive is falling, Foxface swoops in and drags Clove away, running as fast as she can away from the group. Despite not having many morals (and not being quite right in the mind, I may add), Clove is about to kill Foxface before the last words of her sister ring in her ears. Understanding that Foxface dragged her away to save her instead of kill her, Clove knows that she should be helpful to this girl for at least a little bit. After all, in Clove's mind, it will be fun to kill Foxface in the moment that she has put most, if not all, of her trust in her.**

**But, when it is announced that two tributes—whether they be from the same or different districts—can win the Games together, will Clove's plan of killing Foxface change? Or will she go back to Cato and the Careers since, obviously, they have a better chance at helping her win?**

**Other: DO NOT WORRY—I might change the summary to make it less confusing and stuff. **

**Yeah…I changed the entire story from when the hive falls. Also, I made up a name for Foxface, and it is told in both Foxface and Clove's point of views. If you want there to be a romance between the two of them later in the story, tell me in your reviews! If you have any suggestions for the story, then add them in your review or just PM me. Anyway, erm…Please read and review? Love you all.**

A gust of wind blew slightly, and my eyes watched the trees. The girl from District Eleven—Rue, I believe her name to be—was desperately trying to get Katniss's attention. When the older girl finally woke up, I was able to tell how shocked she was that Rue was across from her. Would you like to know what the funny part of all this was?

I was not there to watch the two of them, or even to kill anyone. No…I was watching someone else, someone stronger than Rue and Katniss combined. I was watching the girl who rejected me during training when I asked her to form an alliance with me.

_The Careers and I don't have time to fight alongside pathetic burdens like you,_ she had told me, the words dripping from her lips as if they were venom. For some reason, I had expected her words to be exactly as she had said them, which makes me wonder why I had even asked her in the first place.

Even though she was my enemy, and I was supposed to kill her if I wanted to be the victor of the Games, I still watched her. In some inevitable moment towards the end of the Games, the Careers would turn on each other and fight until there was only one left standing. It was sickening, but I guess that was how all alliances ended.

There can only be one victor, after all.

It was my own choice not to form an alliance with anyone else. Perhaps I could have teamed up with Rue or Katniss…though I still doubted neither would accept me. I was not good for anything except sneaking around and stealing from the other tributes when they least expect it. My own cleverness had earned me a name that I would rather have not had: Foxface.

What is that supposed to mean, anyway? Is it truly because I am clever…or do I really look like a fox?

Maybe looking like a fox was a good thing to some people.

The sound a blade against something rough snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see Katniss sawing at the branch that held a trackerjacker's hive. My eyes wandered down to the group that was still asleep. None of them even twitched; they would not be woken by the sawing of the branch. I studied the sleeping face of one in particular: Clove. She was going to die.

I saw Katniss slap her neck, and I smiled at the fact that she had been stung. Maybe she would drop dead right then and there. She sure as hell deserved it for trying to kill Clove. Of course, I would need to kill Clove to win, but still. I would rather her death be by my hand instead of anyone else's. A death by trackerjackers would not be a pleasant one, and neither would getting ripped apart by Careers.

And so, I made the idiot move.

Just before the branch snapped, I darted out of my hiding place and yanked on Clove's arm. Her eyes flew open, but I knew that I had no time to explain anything. I dragged her along, running as fast as I could while I tried not to laugh at Katniss's surprised gasp. Screams echoed through the forest as the other tributes fled from the scene. Clove struggled against my grip, and I loosened it once we were far enough away from the other tributes. Once my grip on her arm loosened, she tackled me to the ground and held one of her knives to my throat.

"Thought that you could kill me, 5? You're so pathetic," she spat. She was straddling my stomach and her feet were on my wrists. Despite my struggles, I could not wriggle my arms out from under her boots, nor could I try to get her off of me. "Now you're going to die. It's so sad, too. You're going to be killed by the girl you tried to make an alliance with. You knew that it would be this way no matter what," she hissed at me. Screams were still ringing in my ears, though it was only coming from one person. Clove's head snapped up as she listened closely. "Glimmer," she whispered. "Oh well, she was an idiot. She couldn't even use the weapon she wielded. Death was the only thing that would become of her, anyway."

"Don't deny that I saved your life," I told her. The knife was still pressed against my throat, but I felt her release her grip in the slightest way. She smiled once she realized that she was not pressing the knife against my throat hard enough. Her smile was cynical, and I knew that I was about to be killed. _Win, _I thought. It was a weird thing to hope for, but I wanted Clove to win if I was to be killed.

Funny, right? I wanted my murderer to win the Hunger Games.


	2. Clove

"Don't deny that I saved your life."

I hated this girl already. She had never spoken to the boy from her District, and before now I had only heard her voice when she was asking to form an alliance with me. Why was she even so stupid as to believe that I would help someone like _her_? This girl—what was her name?—was pathetic, and I do not fight with anyone who can hardly hold a knife the right way.

_Clove, remember one thing, for me. Not everyone is your enemy—especially if they try to help you first._

The words that were now swirling around my head made my breathing stop and my eyes unfocused, staring at something off into the distance. My fingers uncurled slowly, allowing the knife to fall from my hand and clatter to the ground. Taking in a breath, I finally looked back at the girl beneath me; her eyes showed nothing. It was hard to tell whether or not she was going to try to kill me.

Slowly and cautiously, I rose to my feet. She made no attempt to move; perhaps she was trying to prove to me that I could trust her. Yes, because I would definitely put my trust into someone like her. Rolling my eyes, I spun around in a circle on my heels, trying to see if anyone was coming our way. I was unable to see past some of the trees, and I so I turned back around and stared at the girl before me.

"So, Fox, are we going to go?" I asked. I was not amused, not amused in the slightest. She was weak, which prompted me to speak with the tone I was speaking in. "What are your skills?" I questioned as I began to walk away.

"I can…uh…I'm going at sneaking around," she told me. Her voice was small and hardly audible, as if she were telling me a secret that no one could know.

"Can you even use a _knife_?" I whirled around, not understanding how someone—anyone—would not be able to use a knife. She nodded slightly, though she showed no confidence. I was going to die if Cato and the others came after me.

"You need me," she said, her voice a bit louder now. I raised an eyebrow at her. "I can sneak around; I can get us food without us having to hunt or anything. As good as I am sneaking around without being seen or heard, I need someone who excels in the usage of weapons and such." Her tone was flat, as if she harbored no emotions. Of course, I was only familiar with the feeling of anger, nothing else.

I sighed and started walking again, having to turn around since I could not hear her following me. "I guess you can be good at not being heard," I told her. It was meant to be a compliment, in a way, though it sounded more like an insult.

Many hours had passed since Foxface and my "alliance," and she did not say anything to me. She ditched me a few times, though she always came back with rather small portions of food. Whenever we ate, she always made sure that I had the larger portion of food. Each time I refused and only took a smaller portion, shoving the rest of the food at her saying something like, "I'm stronger than you."

"What's your name, anyway?" I asked her. The two of us were lying in a bed of leaves, looking up at the sky. _It's fake, I'm sure, _I thought to myself. I never learned whether or not the sky in the arena was fake or real. My head turned to the side so that I could see her. She did not take her eyes off of the stars above.

"Rose," she whispered. "Rose Kaleigh." I scoffed.

"What a common and unoriginal name. At least Clove is somewhat unique," I replied. Her facial expression changed, and the slight smile that was planted on her face turned into a frown. "I mean, um—do you want me to teach you how to use a knife?"

It was strange, the way I changed the subject so quickly so that I would not have to see her looking so upset. I was not supposed to think of this girl as nothing more than another tribute that I must kill. So why am I trying to cover my insult?

"I guess it would be helpful," she admitted. She stood up and offered her hand to help me up. I pushed her hand away and rose to my feet on my own, taking two knives out of the backpack Rose had snatched from Marvel when he was keeping watch. It was my backpack to begin with, so she did nothing wrong by taking it from them.

Maybe they all thought that I had died.

I handed her the knife, watching as she wrapped her hand around the hilt. I knew exactly what she felt as she held the knife in her hand: power. It was something I felt every second of the Games, more so when I was sliding the smooth blade across someone's throat or watching as the weapon that I threw dug itself into someone's neck or heart.

"Just watch what I do. Try to hit that tree," I ordered. I demonstrated how to throw the knife, and I knew that he must have been hard for her to see since night had fallen about an hour ago. She imitated my movements, though she missed the tree by about an inch. "Try again," I demanded. She retrieved her knife and repeated her actions, hitting the tree. However, the knife did not stick in the bark. "Throw it harder."

She did as I said, beaming when she hit the tree with the knife and watched the blade pierce the bark. Only the hilt of the knife stuck out from the tree.

"Don't get too excited," I warned. "Hubris will most likely be the death of you. And, besides, what you do once I can do a million times."

Her face fell.

"Ignore everything I say," I said softly, but I know she did not hear me.

Why did I always screw everything up?

"You would be dead then, yes?" Rose asked. I looked at her, not knowing what she was saying. "You are full of pride. It blinds you, causing you to believe that you are something you're not. You aren't as strong as you pretend to be, are you? Tell me, Clove, why didn't you kill me? It's obviously not because I save your life. I know that much."

I stared at her blankly. "What?" Anger washed over me; I hated when people spoke to me like this. I hated it when people saw through my façade, whether or not I believed that what I pretend to be was real or not. "Shut up!" I shouted in a hushed voice. "You don't know anything about me!"

She lay back down on the leaves, looking at the sky again. I plopped down next to her, a long sigh escaping my lips. Her scarlet hair spilled over her shoulders, mixing with my dark hair.

"The stars and moon are beautiful, don't you think?"

"Shut up, 5."


	3. Foxface II

Sunlight streamed through the tops of the trees, and I was surprised to see that Clove's arm was wrapped around my stomach. Her head rested on my shoulder as her body was shaking slightly. There was a cool breeze, though I did not think of it to be that cold. I began to wonder if she had fallen asleep on her watch, or if I had; I could not remember. Gently shaking her shoulder, I tried to wake her, though it ended with her holding one of her knives to my throat.

"Is this, like, a normal reflex for you?" I questioned. She nodded groggily and stood up. Strolling over to our small food supply, I heard her stomach growl hungrily. I grabbed a bottle with water in it and some berries that I had watched Marvel eat. He seemed fine, and I did not hear the canon indicating his death. I held out a handful of berries to Clove, but she turned her head away from me. Forcing the berries into her hand, I ordered, "Eat them."

Never has my voice ever sounded so…confident? No, that was not the word. It was more demanding than confident, or perhaps even a mix of both. Whatever was in my voice, Clove stared at me as if I had just said something in such a voice that my words dripped with even more poison than hers did. I brought my hand to my mouth, awestruck that I could ever make a command in such a way.

Speaking like that at home would have earned me a beating.

"Fine, five, I'll eat the damn berries," Clove mumbled.

"I have a name, you know. I don't call you 'two,' do I?" I asked.

"It'd be better if you did," she responded coldly, munching on the berries although I could tell she did not like them. When she believed that I was not looking, she spit the berries out. "Why would you even be nice to me? I'm going to kill you," she reminded me.

I shrugged. "I don't mind that you are going to kill me. I would rather die by my ally's hand than by anyone else's. Just promise me one thing. Promise me you'll make my death as quickly as possible. If I die, I want you to win," I told her.

"We are _not _allies, Fox. And quick, painless deaths are not exactly my style," she said.

"If we aren't allies, then kill me right now." I grabbed her hand smashed her into me. We landed on the ground with a loud _thud _and the sound of leaves crunching beneath us. Quickly, I placed a knife in her hand and guided it to my neck. "We are not allies. We are enemies. I should be dead, then." Her eyes should something that I wished they hadn't: bloodlust.

She wanted to kill me; she truly wanted to kill me. This was a girl—a Career from District 2—who knew nothing but anger and hatred. The only thing she knew how to do was kill, and now she was about to kill me.

"All it takes is one swipe across my throat. Why are you holding back?" I asked. I was basically pleading for her to kill me…but why? Were the Games really driving me towards my own suicide? What was even going on? How many days had passed since the beginning of the Games? Who was left? Who had died? Had I even killed anyone yet?

So many questions swam through my mind. I felt faint. The forest was spinning, and the last thing I saw was a boy running behind Clove. He had dark hair, and I recognized him as Marvel. Then everything went black. I was surrounded by darkness.

I awoke to someone shaking my shoulders roughly, my head lolling around. "Rose!" a girl screamed in my face. Slowly, my eyes opened and I saw Clove. Spots of blood had been sprayed over her face. I looked at her hands; bloody. A limp body lay on the ground behind her.

Marvel was dead.

She killed her former ally.

Was that what would become of me as well?

"Rose! What the hell happened to you?" She was shouting at me, her voice proving her to be panicked, and perhaps even scared.

No. Not scared.

People like Clove did not feel fear.

They felt nothing.

If that were true, then why did she look so…worried?

"Speak to me, Rose!" she yelled. I uttered a groan, and she stopped shaking me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held me tightly. "Damn it, five, what the hell?"

"I—I don't know."

She stared at me for a minute, our eyes meeting. For some reason, I felt as though I should look away, but at the same time I could not tear my gaze from her. She looked so perfect, so _real_. Even though there were small specks of blood mixed with her freckles, she was…_beautiful._ Without warning, I leaned forward, pressing my lips to hers as gently as a butterfly would land upon a flower.

Clove did not pull away, though she did not kiss me back. I was not even sure what was going on. Why had I done that?

Perhaps I truly was going insane.


	4. Clove II

I pulled away from Rose, slightly dazed. Once I was able to grab a hold of reality, I leaned into her and whispered in her ear, "We're on live television, five. Even if I did go that way, I'd still kill you. Emotions are nonexistent in this arena." I heard her laughing softly, and leaned back to look at her face. She was smiling goofily and staring at me with soft eyes.

"If you did not have any emotion other than the ones you pretend to harbor, I would be dead right now. Please tell me why you have not killed me yet," she pleaded softly. I looked down and then looked back at her.

"I made a promise to my sister. She is the only reason you're still alive. Learn to be grateful and never question me again."

The anthem played and the faces of the dead tributes glowed in the sky. Marvel and Thresh's faces lit up the sky a tiny bit, and I tried to ignore the fact that Marvel was only up there because I had killed him. _He's with Glimmer, though, Clove. It's okay—he's with something he loves,_ my sister's voice told me. Maybe that was true…but was there really an afterlife? Could there truly be a place where people could be at peace? A place without the Games…somewhere you are not forced to kill each other?

"I'm still dizzy," Rose admitted. I glanced over at her, thinking of why she would be passing out and feeling so faint. "I think I'm running a fever." Reaching over, I touched the back of my hand to her forehead, and sure enough she was burning up."Am I going to die…?"

"No. I will not let you," I whispered. Through the darkness, I saw her smile at me. "Don't think you're going to die, because you—" I was interrupted by a beeping sound, and I looked up to see a small silver parachute slowly floating down. Attached to the parachute was a cylinder; I ran over to where it landed and eagerly opened the cylinder, jabbing my hand into it and pulling out a small bag of…pills? A note inside read:

_Wow—your first sponsor. Surprise, surprise_

Pulling a canteen of water out of my backpack, I held Rose's head up and had her swallow a sip of water along with a pill. "Sleep," I commanded. She nodded and closed her eyes. After putting everything away, I lay next to her, feeling her cuddle up next to me to keep warm. Rose may be taller and smarter than I, but she was not as strong as I was.

There was a chance she wouldn't make it.

Realizing this, I stood up quickly. Rose groaned and twitched, but she did not fully awaken. I grabbed my backpack and held a knife in my hand as I ran deeper into the forest. I was unsure of who I was looking for, though I did believe that it would be Katniss, Rue, or Peeta. I could not bring myself to kill Cato yet; it'd be too hard, even for someone like me.

"Attention, tributes! We have a surprise for you at the Cornucopia. You all need something right now, and that is what we have for you. Pick up your 'something' tomorrow morning at the Cornucopia!" a voice boomed. A deep growl escaped the back of my throat, displaying my irritation. I had hoped to kill someone tonight. Now, though, morning sounded like the better plan.

Disregarding everything that told me to wait for morning, I continued to trudge through the forest, trying desperately to make my footsteps as quiet as Rose's. For a moment, I stopped walking. In that moment, I heard leaves rustling behind me. Hiding behind a tree, I watched as three figures walked past the tree I was behind. It was Rue, Peeta, and Katniss. I suppose I had to give Rue some credit for staying alive, though I knew that the only reason she was alive was because Katniss and Peeta were protecting her.

The knife grew heavier in my hand, though I did know why. My eyes were fixed on Rue; she'd be the easiest kill. It was evident that Katniss cared for her, and killing Rue would mean destroying Katniss a little. Perhaps, in that split second of Katniss's shock and depression, I would be able to kill her as well. That would leave Peeta, but he would be so upset over his girlfriend's death that he'd be begging me to kill him.

Maybe I could have some fun with this.

I darted out from behind the tree and wrapped my arm around Rue's small neck as quickly as possible. My other hand held my knife against her throat. Katniss aimed an arrow at me, but I shook my head. She stared at Rue for a minute, then back at Peeta, and then at me.

"It's three against one, Clove. You can't win," Peeta said.

"Drop all of your weapons or I'll kill her right now. All three of you know that I can and will kill her," I stated. Slowly, Katniss and Peeta lowered their weapons. "I said drop, not lower." A smile was plastered to my face as I dug the knife deeper into Rue's throat, hearing her whimper in pain.

"Katniss…please…just kill her…" Rue begged. Just as Katniss dropped down to pick up her bow, I ran the knife across the young girl's neck and fled from the scene. Katniss was able to shoot an arrow at me, catching me in the shoulder.

"Rue!" I heard Katniss scream. My smile grew wider at the sound of the canon firing.


	5. Foxface III

The sound of a canon firing caused my eyes to open. I looked around; Clove was not in sight. Scrambling to my feet, I began to sprint through the forest, tripping over myself constantly. "Clove!" I screamed on the top of my lungs. "Clove! Clove! Clove!" I was silenced when something smashed into me at full force. I was knocked to the ground, my breath leaving me. Groaning, I looked to see what I had run into.

"Rose!" Clove exclaimed. Her stomach lay flat on mine, and her slender legs were tangled in my own. "Thank goodness you're okay!" I flung my arms around her and began crying, not able to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. "W-what's wrong?" she asked.

"I heard the canon…I thought you were—" I could not finish my statement, it was too hard. She made me look at her, cupping my face in her hands. For whatever reason, I thought she was going to kiss me right then and there. Unfortunately, though, she did not.

"It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay," she replied. I gasped when I noticed that her shoulder was bleeding.

"Y-your s-sh-shoulder!" I managed to say. She shook her head and tried to ignore it.

"Just go to sleep," she told me, lying down on the dirt. Without me wanting it to, sleep came over me quickly. I still tried to fight it, though, sitting upright so that I would not allow myself to fall victim to sleep. Fatigue washed over me in large waves, my eyes trying to close and hating me when I forced them back open.

Then I felt a pair of lips on my neck. An arm wrapped around my stomach from behind me and pulled me down so that I was on my back. Clove lay next to me, averting her eyes so that she would not have to deal with what she just did.

"You know…you don't have to hate _everything_," I informed her.

"I really do, though," she responded. I shook my head. "Well, I don't hate everything," she said, looking at me, "I don't hate you."

My lips found hers for a quick second, our lips pressing against each other's softly. She pulled away and I nuzzled my head into her neck as I drifted off to sleep.

"We're still on national television, Five," she purred in my ear.

"I don't care anymore."

Morning came too soon, and I was pulled to my feet by Clove. Her eyes showed no emotion, leaving me to question whether or not our "conversation" the night before was real. I glanced over at her shoulder, seeing that it looked infected and worse than before. It was hard to think that she had spent a night like that. Dawn had barely even arrived, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"They have medicine for me at the Cornucopia. There is something there for each of the remaining tributes," she explained.

"You're not going out there, Clove," I stated firmly.

"I have to!"

"I'm going for you," I told her.

"Stop treating me like I'm some helpless little girl! Damn it, Five, you're so freaking stubborn! I don't even know why I haven't kill you yet. I could run my knife across your throat right now if I wanted to. Don't test me, and just stop acting like you're the stronger one out of us. You're weak compared to me."

I did not know why she had such a personality change over the course of one night. Placing a hand on her good shoulder, I whispered, "Stop trying to push me away."

With that said, I ran away, going in the direction that I knew the Cornucopia was in. Hiding behind a bush, I watched to see if anyone was running yet. I saw the numbers on the cylinders: Two, Five, and Twelve. There were only five of us left. Once I felt as though it was clear, I dashed out from behind the bush and made my way towards the cylinders at the Cornucopia. I grabbed the cylinders for Districts Two and Five and continued running, not even stopping after seeing Katniss retreating when she saw me.

"I'm safe," I told Clove as I dropped the cylinder in front of her. She pulled out a can of medicine and quickly applied it to her shoulder, grinding her teeth together from the pain. I reached inside of my own cylinder and pulled out a piece of paper before anything else. "Hey, does yours have a note in it?" Clove shook her head.

_A sponsor thought it would be appropriate to give this to you now instead of as a parachute._

I peered inside and found more antibiotics, or what appeared to be. Why would I need _that?_

"What is it?" Clove wondered, looking into my cylinder. She scoffed. "What the hell? I thought you're okay."

"I think that they're…sleeping pills?" I said, trying to figure out why I needed them.

"Whatever."

"Attention, tributes. There has been a slight change to the rules. Instead of there only being allowed one victor, there can now be two, regardless of whether or not they are in the same District," a voice boomed. Clove and I looked at each instantly.

"Allies…?" I questioned. She stared at me, and I knew that there was only one thing on her mind.

_Cato._

"I'm going back to him, Rose."

Those were the last words she said to me before disappearing behind some trees. I tried running after her, I truly did, but I could not keep up with her. For the first few seconds, my legs would not work, which was probably why I hadn't been able to see where she went.

She left me, though.

She was going to kill me.

Or even worse…she was going to let Cato kill me.


	6. Clove III

My feet carried me far away from Foxface.

I could no longer bear to call her by her real name.

Why did I leave her? Did I honestly believe that Cato would take me back? There were only five of us left. Cato could easily kill me and make himself the only winner; that way he would get more praise from our District. Still, though, I found myself trying to find him.

There was something that bothered me, though. I truly cared about Ro—Foxface. Perhaps…

A plan formulated in my mind, and a sad smile appeared on my lips. The true reality of the Games hit me. No matter what, I would have to kill someone that I cared about—maybe even loved—in order to survive. Even though the rules have been changed, I would still have to kill one of them.

And, unfortunately, I already knew who I was going to be walking out of the arena with.

As I slowed to a walk, a canon fired. I stopped dead in my tracks, and two screams rang in my ears. One was feminine, while the other was masculine. I could recognize the girl's scream from anywhere: Foxface.

"Rose!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I ran in the opposite direction that I was walking in. "Rose!" I was screaming as if I was dying, though I knew that she was probably the one close to death. Tears filled my eyes as I stumbled over tree stumps and sticks, as well as my own two feet. After about five minutes, I saw Rose. She was sitting behind a tree, shaking violently. Her hands were covered in blood, though I could see no wounds on her body. What had happened to her?

Next to her lay a bloody knife.

"R-Rose?" My voice was broken as I choked back sobs. Her head turned to the side so that she could look at me. Her eyes were wild and she was smiling, though she was still shaking. "W-what happened?"

"Four left," she said. "There are four of us left. Katniss tried to kill you, and now she's gone." I looked at my shoulder, where Katniss had shot me with the arrow. It was almost completely healed. "Please don't leave me again." She sounded just as broken and lost as I, and so I bent down next to her and wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"Are you hurt?" I asked. She shook her head which was now buried in my shoulder. She had never killed anyone before—that was evident. "I don't think Cato's worth it," I admitted.

"You're just realizing that now?"

I let out a small laugh, though I was still sobbing. If I had not left her to begin with, she would not have had to kill anyone. She would still be the stubborn, pestering, pathetic, helpless, beautiful, little girl she was before. Now, though, she was hardly sane.

She was slowly losing her sanity.

Just as I was.

Hours had passed, and Rose was eating the rest of the berries we had. Her eyes were opened wide, and every few minutes she would let out a laugh accompanied with the words, "I killed Katniss," in a sing-song voice.

It took all I had not to slap the shit out of her to see if it did anything to help her. A sudden thought struck me, though, just as I raised my hand. The giggling girl had been sitting on my lap like a small child, curled up so that her head was resting on my chest. Juice from the berries she had been eating dripped onto my shirt. I looked next to my leg, seeing the cylinder and the pills inside. Taking a pill out, I held it to her mouth. She whined and stared at me as if I had just tried to make her drink poison.

"No! What is that?"

"It's a berry," I lied. She giggled again and swallowed the pill. After a few minutes, she went limp and fell forward. I caught her and lay her on the ground, knowing what this pill would do for her. Or, at least, hoping that I knew what it'd do for her.

I kept watch that night, not trusting anything anymore. My eyes fell over every inch of the forest that I could see; desperately trying to make sure that Rose would be safe. When she woke up, I urged her to rest more, though she insisted that she took the next watch. She was so serious, now—no longer the giggling psycho, but not the girl she was before. Her facial expression did not change once. When I rested my lips upon hers, she showed no sign of enjoying it, or disliking it. Her stare was glassy, as if she was dead or lost in her own world.

This was not Rose Kaleigh.

This was a girl that the Capitol gave back to me in return for her sanity.

There was not a sponsor who tried to help Rose. The entire thing was set up by the Capitol. I could tell.

Footsteps approached the two of us while I was trying to get some sleep. I rocketed to my feet, but right when I was about to throw a knife at the person, I saw that there was already one lodged in their neck. Covering my hand to keep from screaming, I watched as Rose plucked her knife from Peeta's neck. Nothing flashed across her face.

Absolutely nothing.

It was a day later, and night was falling quickly. I had been washed away with anger, not able to see past my hatred for the Capitol. They were the ones who did this; they destroyed Rose. I was keeping watch when I was startled by the noise of dogs barking, growling, and howling. They sounded close—too close. Rose woke up, grabbing her backpack before running off. I followed her, able to keep up. While we were running, though, a giant dog jumped out in front of us. It wrestled Rose to the ground, though she was able to stab it in the eye and get up. We ran as fast as we could, Rose obviously running faster than me.

Once we had reached the Cornucopia, I scrambled to climb up the walls. I helped Rose up, though she did not seem to need the help. There were a number of dogs running after us, and I saw Cato running towards from the other direction. Great.

He had managed to climb the wall of the Cornucopia, and I knew that this was the end for us. I threw a knife, though he was able to dodge it. Before I was able to react, I felt the sharp blade of his sword in my stomach. I coughed, blood spilling from my mouth. Rose's facial expression finally changed from nothing to horror. She looked down at me, and then up at Cato. Fire burned in her eyes as she screamed and took out a knife, running up to Cato.

She was able to roll out of the way of his sword, and managed to somehow stab him in the neck.

The canon fired.

"Clove…" Rose whispered, sobbing loudly as she cradled my head in her arms. Was this the Capitol's plan all along? Make her apathetic and emotionless until she witnessed my death? "Please forgive me. Please. I—I'm so sorry…" Tears spilled down her cheeks endlessly, and I raised my hand to her face, resting it against her cheek.

"I shouldn't have left you," I admitted. Before either of us could say another word, we heard a voice fill up the arena.

"We would like to present the victors of the 74th Hunger Games—Clove Isaacs and Rose Kaliegh!"

"It's going to be okay," Rose whispered. She pressed her lips to mine, and this time it was a more passionate kiss than all of the others. Rose took my bottom lip in hers, though the sounds of the hovercraft made her look up. "I love you," she told me.

"Shut up, Five," I replied, blushing.

**This is, unfortunately, the last chapter of this short story. However, if you would like, I will make a sequel. It would probably be about them trying to cope with everything, though, while trying to keep their relationship together. Oh, and they'd go on their Victory Tour and stuff…**


	7. End

**I have started writing the sequel, so that you know. It is called Waiting For the End.**


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